Prepping for MSU

Ashlynn's next appointment is Thursday the 11th at Michigan State University. We are going to visit a Nuero-ophthalmologist. He is supposed to be one of the best in the state, even out ranking University of Michigan.

I'm not sure how well you can see the letter they sent me, I blurred out everything to just point out to you the length of our appointment. Atleast 4 hours, and we need to be atleast a half an hour early. Let me tell you I'm going to be bouncing off the walls. At this point I'm anxious to find out any new information however. I'm also hoping they will be able to tell me more about when the chemotherapy and radiation may start.
Their website gave me a lot more information about what exactly they do. It eased my nervousness a little bit and hopefully I can start to explain to more people what is going to happen.

http://neurology.msu.edu/patients/neuro_ophthamology.shtml

Ashlynn is in a very good mood today and was up to her normal antics. We took her to her cousin Alex's baseball game last night. She really enjoyed herself! She got to see her grandparents and a her aunt and uncle. There was even a special visit from Uncle Kevin, which we got to hear about the whole way home. I noticed last night that Ashlynn turns her head more than normal children to be able to see out of her good eye. Also when the light is brighter for her she closes that eye a little more as if to shield it. I'm waiting to find out more information from our local ophthalmologist about when she will be put into glasses to protect her right eye. It seems like she struggles more daily to see out of the right eye and I worry about her vision.

She never hesitates for a CHEESE moment.

Today my Goals Are

• To maintain as much of a normal night at work as possible.
• Research more into my MSU visit
• Call a therapist about being seen for counseling
• Help another person in need

 

My quote for the day is

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

Dr. Suess

Back home in Momma's Arms!

Ashlynn came back home today at noon. The person she stayed with is kind of in denial about the whole situation. I'm just hoping she didn't have any flare ups while visiting with his family. Her eye today looks a little more rough. The eye lid appears swollen, and the eye itself is dilated for no apparent reason.

Ashlynn was very animated today, giggling while eating her nachos with Mamaw Caudill. She is very adamant that she wants to see her Papaw and Mamaw now. While having a pretend phone conversation with Mamaw I noticed a small lisp to her "R". I doubt that is from her condition but, it scares me all the same. I'm pretty sure everything scares me right now though.

I've come to the conclusion I'm facing depression. My moods are so abnormal, I feel my feelings jumping around like little marbles on a trampoline. Everytime I look into her small beautiful face I find myself asking God.."Why?"

I've always noticed something different about Ashlynn. My pregnancy was rough, I ended up on bed rest for the last month of it. I blamed it on the stress I was going thru. Ashlynn was the greatest blessing ever sent my way but, unfortunately at the time not everyone looked upon it like that. When Ashlynn was 6 months old I started to notice she didn't want to roll over or put any weight on her legs. Most babies will jump in a jumperoo...Ashlynn thought it was amazing to make it fly all over without ever putting her legs down.
At 12 months Ashlynn still had difficulty rolling over, she did not walk or crawl. She was slowly managing a butt scoot across the living room. She also did not say any words and cried for all her needs to be met. I called our local Early Intervention and had Ashlynn admitted to the local Physical Therapy Department. Ashlynn officially walked on August 2nd, of 2012, at 18 months old.

Today Ashlynn scores at a 3 month delay in only her self help skills and gross motor skills. She is actually advanced with her fine motor skills and cognitive thinking. She can put a puzzle together so fast, it amazes me. Her favorite activities involve water, the park, and going for a ride sticking her hand out the window. Her favorite foods are frenchie fries, cereal, watermelon, apples,and chocolate milk. She says "Please, Thank You, Your Welcome, and Excuse Me" whenever necessary and without cue.

My life quote that I will share with all of you is "A wrong turn can lead you to paradise." At this point in time I'm waiting for that newest fork in the road.

I also leave you with
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
 Epictetus